-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Hundreds of people were injured in Bahrain Friday , when rival groups clashed over an attempted march in the town of Riffa , a residential area where the ruling Al-Khalifa family lives .

The national health ministry said 774 people were injured and 107 were hospitalized in the wake of the fighting .

Anti-government demonstrators in Riffa had planned a march . A crowd numbering roughly 8,000 set off on the march , according to Bahrain 's ambassador to the United States .

But they were met by hundreds of people carrying swords , hatchets , metal pieces , cricket instruments and pieces of wood with nails hammered into them . The opposing group had already taken up positions in an effort to stop the planned march .

Bahrain 's ambassador to the United States took the unusual step of commenting on the clashes in Riffa , which he called a `` sectarian conflict '' between Shia and Sunni Muslim factions . Law enforcement officers had erected barbed wire fences in an attempt to ward off any fighting , Houda Ezra Nonoo said in a statement .

The conflict began when small groups from opposing sides met at the security fence , she said .

Accounts that claimed live ammunition was used by government forces were `` rumors , '' Nonoo added . She also denied allegations that people inhaled tear gas to the point of suffocation .

Only eight tear gas canisters were used to disperse the crowd , according to Nonoo 's statement . Video footage would support his version of the operation , she said .

The attempted march in Riffa was organized by some of the more hard-line Shia groups among the government opposition . However , there are also moderate Shia groups and Sunni groups in the anti-government coalition .

Sunni Muslims -- a minority in the kingdom -- dominate the government of Bahrain .

The Shiite Muslim majority has staged protests in recent years to complain about discrimination , unemployment and corruption .

Riffa is just over 12 miles -LRB- 20 kilometers -RRB- southwest of the capital , Manama , where demonstrators have been protesting in Pearl Roundabout for a month . Seven people died there when security personnel tried to clear the area in mid-February .

Protesters initially took to the streets of Manama to demand reform and the introduction of a constitutional monarchy . More than 500 people have been injured in Bahrain since the protest began , which human rights activists say is part of a wave of popular unrest crashing through the Arab world

The Bahrain Center for Human Rights said authorities launched a clampdown on dissent in 2010 . It accused the government of torturing some human rights activists .

CNN 's Tim Lister and journalist Mansoor Al-Jamri contributed to this report .

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More than 700 people were injured in clashes over attempted march

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The clashes took place in area that is home to the Al-Khalifa ruling family

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Opposing crowds carried swords , hatchets , pieces of wood with nails

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The Bahraini ambassador to U.S. denied allegations of police force